Shloka 7
नहुषोपाख्यानम्—दीपदान-धूप-बलीकर्म-प्रशंसा
Nahūṣa Episode and the Commendation of Lamp-Gifting and Household Offerings
यथा च गृहिणस्तोषो भवेद् वै बलिकर्मणि । तथा शतगुणा प्रीतिर्देवतानां प्रजायते,बलिकर्म करनेपर गृहस्थको जितना संतोष होता है, उससे सौगुनी प्रीति देवताओंको होती है
yathā ca gṛhiṇas toṣo bhaved vai balikarmaṇi | tathā śataguṇā prītir devatānāṃ prajāyate ||
Bhishma sprach: „So wie der Hausvater Genugtuung empfindet, wenn er das vorgeschriebene Bali-Opfer vollzieht, so entsteht bei den Göttern eine hundertfach größere Freude.“
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
That the householder’s prescribed offerings (bali) are not merely personal rituals: when performed as dharma, they generate a far greater, ‘hundredfold’ satisfaction for the gods, affirming the ethical principle that sincere duty and giving sustain the wider moral-cosmic order.
In Anuśāsana Parva, Bhīṣma is instructing Yudhiṣṭhira on dharma. Here he highlights the value of the gṛhastha’s daily offering-duty (balikarma), explaining its spiritual efficacy by comparing the performer’s contentment with the even greater delight it produces for the deities.